Longer chapter this time. Hope people are still interested in this story after so long, it's just hard to keep writing fanfiction when I have so much original stuff due for my creative writing class. X . X It's hard to keep up with. I promise to keep updating though! Just stick with me! Hopefully summer will be productive! Yay!

Disclaimer: I do not own and do not make money from any of the characters or setting of Harry Potter. Also, there are some lines directly from the book in this chapter. Those aren't mine either. They all belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling.

Dumbledore had explained to Paige that she would have to be quiet while he gave his speech and not talk about magic being amazing while she ate the feast at the end of the Teacher's table. There wasn't enough time to begin telling her about too much of the things that happened at Hogwarts. After their talk, he took her into a closet in the back of the room and pointed his wand at a chest. Immediately, it flew open and a dusty wad of blue clothing flew out.

"This will have to do, for now, until we can get you to Madam Malkin's. Here, Miss Richards, put this on."

Paige took the cloth and unwound it from the tight wad it was in, shaking out the dust and coughing more than a bit. "What is this?"

"They're robes, Miss Richards. Wizards and witches wear robes rather than those muggle clothes you have. You can put these on for the time being and we'll get you proper robes after the feast."

Paige tugged the robes on and they seemed to be too tight in some places and too loose in others, along with being coated in dust and smelling strongly of storage space. She was about to ask if he had anything else she could wear when the old man pointed his wand at her and they started to shift around her, loosening around her hips and chest and widening in the shoulders, tightening on the waist and shortening the hem and sleeves. Another swish of his wand and the dust puffed out around her and dropped suddenly to the floor.

"Not as good a job as Madam Malkins could do, but good enough for now, I should think. Now, if you have anything else you'd like to do before I take you in to the Great Hall, you should do it now. We're already late."

Paige stood, dumbfounded for a moment, staring down at the robes that didn't fit a moment ago and now seemed like they were bought just for her. She continued to stare for until Dumbledore cleared his throat and she jumped. "Oh! Right! Sorry!" She dashed over to her bags, tripping over the robes on her way. Underneath them, she pulled her jeans off and shoved them into the bag, then yanked out a hairbrush and pulled it through her hair. Lastly, she got out an eyeliner pencil and looked around the room for a mirror. Finding none, she settled for the most reflective glass surface in the room and slapped on a bit of make-up.

"Okay," she said finally. "I'm ready."

Dumbledore nodded and crooked his arm to her, leading her to the door out to the staircases and down to the Great Hall itself.

In the Great Hall, Dumbledore summoned a chair from his wand and Paige hid her excitement as best she could before she sat down in it next to a tiny, strange looking man. She was gawking, wide-eyed at the gold dishes and cutlery when the man looked up at her, squinting.

"And who might you be, young lady?" he squeaked.

She cleared her throat. "Uhm, I'm the new, uh-"

The Hall around them fell silent and the little man's attention was drawn to the great doors opening. A tall woman with a pointed, witch's hat led in a line of children began filing in and Paige thought of how young these children were, and yet how old. She thought of how amazing it would have been for her if she'd been able to do magic, if she'd been summoned to a magic school…

The woman put down the stool in her hands, bearing an old-as-Earth witch's hat, and stepped back away from it a little. A rip near the brim opened and the hat began to sing. Paige gasped and her hands flew to her mouth. The little man beside her shot her a look, but turned back to the hat.

Paige listened to the song carefully, memorizing the tune, the words. She didn't know if she'd ever hear it again. This beautiful story of four friends founding a school, the warning it brought to them, whatever that was. Did it sing this song each time? What was the sorting? She wished she had some paper to write these lyrics on.

When the song was over, the hall broke into applause and mutters, whispers. Paige clapped so hard her hands stung. She didn't want to stop clapping, but the peculiar little man beside her put his hands on hers.

"I know it was a lovely song, dear, but the sorting hasn't even begun."

Paige nodded and, a little embarrassed, put her hands in her lap to wait. The woman in the hat cast one last look around the hall and began to read from a roll of …was that parchment? Why couldn't these people just write on paper? Was parchment more magical? And for that matter, why not a computer? Oh well, who cared? This place was magical. Technology could bite it.

"Abercrombie, Euan," she called, loud and clear. One of the little boys, looking more than a little frightened, came up to the front to put the hat on his head and sit on the stool. Paige giggled. He looked adorable with the hat fallen down over his eyes and held up by big ears.

Finally, the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" and Paige jumped.

One of the tables erupted with applause and cheers. The boy stumbled over to the table and he sank onto a seat while the other clapped him on the back and congratulated him.

Paige watched, elatedly as the sorting continued until they got to "Umbertobbin," and she began to grow bored of the whole thing. There were only four houses, after all. The tables of students never grew bored though. They continued to cheer each and every addition to their table, though some were looking more than a little ravenous.

As the sorting continued though, her eyes began to wander. She took in the floating candles, lit and casting dancing light over the entire, huge hall. She noticed, finally, that the ceiling was completely black. That seemed odd for such a grand place. She wondered what the meaning behind that was, or had it just not been cleaned in a long time? Paige wrinkled her nose at the thought. There was probably some sort of magic involved and she just didn't know what it was. She'd have to remember to ask Dumbledore later. Her eyes continued scanning over the rest of the room and caught on the five banners with the crests on them, flapping pleasantly, though there was no breeze in the hall. One of them was blue and blue and bronze, the same colors and even emblem with a raven as the girls on the train. That must have been the symbol of their house. Another was silver and green, a snake emblazoned in the middle of the tapestry. The third was yellow and black, a furry badger in the center. The last was gold and red with a fighting lion's image on it. That was the same as Lee, Fred, and George, wasn't it? She scanned over the table for them, but there was a surprising number of red-heads at the table. Before she had looked over the whole thing, the Hall had fallen silent again, the witch having picked up the hat and stool and Dumbledore having gotten to his feet.

His arms stretched wide and he surveyed the crowd before saying, loudly, "To our newcomers, welcome! To our old hands – welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

Paige nearly clapped her hands off when the rest of the hall began to applaud and laugh. She stopped, though, and gasped when the platters and dishes filled with food before her. She coughed for a moment, having inhaled too much air, and the little man beside her patted her back.

"That's alright, dear. We all feel that way the first time. What was your name again? I am Professor Filius Flitwick, Charms teacher and Head of house for Ravenclaw. I usually sit rather closer to the center, but I arrived bit late to the Great Hall this evening, as did you."

She coughed again and wiped at her watering eyes. "Uhm, I'm Paige. Paige Richards. I- I'm going to be an assistant caretaker, so…"

Flitwick smiled slightly and nodded. "Well that sounds lovely. I'm sure Filch will appreciate the help. You're very young though. You were probably a student somewhere else not long ago, weren't you?"

Honestly, she answered, "Yeah, not long ago." She coughed again. "Is there some water or something around here?"

Filius squeaked and pulled out a stick of wood, waving it. A pitcher floated over to them and poured itself in her goblet. "Will pumpkin juice do?"

Paige nodded. If all of the people she encountered were as nice as the twins, Lee, Dumbledore, and Filius she would be alright at this school, she thought.

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